Jonathan Lethem and Frank Muller - Motherless Brooklyn

Pros: Lionel, final confrontations

Cons: too much middle

The Bottom Line: A fascinating narrator rooted in Brooklyn, a complicated plot, and one particularly great action sequence.

Review: Considering that I have enjoyed stories in the New Yorker by Jonathan Lethem, it is surprising that I did not get around to reading Motherless Brooklyn, his novel won the 1999 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction, as well as the 2000 ...

Pros: A funny, can't-put-it-down read

Cons: only the hardboiled type...

Review: Jonathan Lethem is the Brooklyn version of Haruki Marukami. Or vice versa. Lethem's previous works, including "Girl in Landscape" and "As She Climbed Across the Table" are some of the most inventive and captivating books in recent...

Pros: Well written characters and setting that really drive the story

Cons: Not the strongest plot, but it didn't really need to be.

Review: While Motherless Brooklyn is not a science fiction or fantasy novel as most of my reviews are, Lethem's "Amnesia Moon" and "Gun With Occasional Music" (I still love that title) impressed me enough that I had to read this one. Well,...

Pros: Funny, original, surprising, accurate

Cons: Sometimes slow, repetitive, longer than it needs to be

Review: I once met Jonathan Lethem in a writing class at my college. We read excerpts from some of his more science fiction pieces. When I went out and purchased Motherless Brooklyn, I was completely surprised by the virtual lack of a science fiction theme. I...